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G. H. STEPHENS.

BOOT TREE.

Patented May 15,1894.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

GEORGE HENRY STEPHENS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

BOOT-TREE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 519,877, dated May 15, 1894.

Application filed November 20, 1893. Serial No. 491,434. (No modem To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE HENRY STE- PHENS, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at London, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in and Applicable to Boot-Trees, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in or applicable to boot-trees whereby they will also serve as boot-warmers and driers. For this purpose I combine with a boot-treea case made of suitable sheet metal such as tinned iron adapted to receive a heated iron or the like, or a suitable composition or material which will give oil": heatwhen ignitedor heated.

To enable my invention to be fully understood I will for the purpose of illustration describe it as shown applied to a boot-tree simiof the said boot-tree I adapt a case cl of suitable sheet metal such as tinned iron, the

said case being advantageously formed with flanges e to allow of it being fixed by pins or screws to the rabbeted under side of the boottree as shown or the case may be fixed to or form part of the link 0. The rear end of the case (1 is open to allow of the introduction of the heaterfwhich in the drawings is shown as consisting of a rectangular block or bar of iron which can be heated in any suitable manner before being placed in the case 01. Instead, however, of employing a heated iron any suitable composition or material which will give ofi heat when ignited or heated may be employed, the case at being provided with a suitable cover.

g is a lining of suitable material with which I find it advantageous to provide the bottom of my boot-tree. I have found the material tree is raised into the position shown in dot V ted lines in Fig. 2 and the heater f (previously heated) is placed in the case (i; the boot-tree (with the heater) is then introduced into the boot, the heel part is closed down in the usual manner so that while the boot is stretched or kept to its proper shape by the boot-tree the heating arrangement will serve to warm or dry the boot as the case may be.

In practice I find it advantageous to perforate the case cl and also the several parts of the boot-tree with the object of obtaining a thorough circulation of the air.

Although I have described my invention as applied to a boot-tree of the kind forming the subject of my said Patent No. 468,006 it will be obvious that my improvements are equally applicable to other forms of boot-trees.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is- 1. A boot tree comprising a toe piece and a heel piece pivotally connected with said toe piece, said toe piece being provided with a receptacle for a heating device, and a lining of absorbent material secured to both of said parts for absorbing moisture, substantially as described. I

2. Aboot tree comprisinga toepiece, a heel piece pivotally connected therewith, said toe piece being provided with a receptacle adjacent to the bottom of the same, a removable heating iron for said recess and a lining of absorbent material extending along the bottom of both of said parts, substantially as described.

GEORGE HENRY STEPHENS.

Witnesses:

G. E. REDFERN, JOHN E. BOUSFIELD, Of the firm of G. F. Redfe'rn &' 00., 4 South Street, Finsbury, London, Patent Agents. 

